Knightfall Novel Discussion - Here there be spoiler tags!

As you may have heard, the Wulfgard Kickstarter rewards are being sent out, and copies of Maverick's novel, Knightfall, are among the vanguard! Since the books will be arriving for everyone at different times, I figured we can discuss the books themselves and how excited we are when they arrive, and wait a bit longer before discussing actual plotlines and such. Should help keep things spoiler-free for now.

My copy arrived on Wednesday, and I started reading it that very evening. Well, "reading" may be too underwhelming a choice of words, given how I stormed my way through the prologue and the first few chapters. I forgot the number of the chapter I stopped at, but believe I was almost halfway through the book. Evidence indicates that I will be finishing and restarting my reading quite shortly.

One thing I can mention that doesn't involve any spoilers is a heavily updated partial map in the early pages. While it doesn't cover as much area as the one in the Errant RP board, it's clear that plenty of new locations and details have been added. I'm very excited to see this continuing to develop.

Spoiler

Well, I promised spoiler tags, but I still don't want to give too much away. Let's just say certain characters have been introduced by the point of the story I reached, and I am quite glad to see them.

I just finished the book last night, and I intend to read it again very, very soon! Since some may not even have received their copies yet, I will not start the formal, spoilered discussion quite yet. However, I just wanted to take a moment to say that the book ended well, leaving me hopeful about future installments instead of cringing at yet another obvious cliffhanger. Tom's character has really shone throughout this book, and while his hero's journey is very different from most, it still has all the elements that we are familiar with and love to read about.

The various other characters all grew on me in different ways, and it was a joy to read about them as well. Tom's friends and allies were lovable in their banter and interactions, while the antagonists were chilling yet believable. I could not bring this book to work for fear that I would be unable to actually do my job, for I was that absorbed in the narrative. All in all, Knightfall is a quality piece of literature and a promising start to a fantastic series.

Hah, not a spoiler to be found, I think. This review would most likely be a lot larger if I'd included that kind of detail. Happy reading to the rest of you!

Just got the book. I'm really excited to get started! I will hopefully get to writing a review when I'm done. The cover is stunning. Just the one picture makes me want to open it up and learn about this character and his story. I am looking forward to seeing this world and cannot wait until I see the comic!

Okay, let me start off my review of this book by saying that it was definitely worth waiting an extra three months for. Almost as soon as I got the book I started reading it, but even so it took me three days to read (I guess I’m never going to beat my record of reading Blood of Olympus in one day). Anyways, let’s start the review:

THINGS I LIKED:

1: The Characters:

I loved the fact that the characters didn’t seem to change from their appearance and actions from Errant (for those that we have encountered so far, at least). Even though some characters appeared more than others, it was still great to see some familiar faces, and some new ones.

2: The Villains:

From reading Brain Jacques’ Redwall series and (probably) some other books, I have gained a strong opinion of what a good antagonist should exhibit, and Wolfy did a good job with portraying them in this book. I went into this book disliking Scaevius, mostly because of the horns on his helmet (I’m sorry, animals that have those horns in real life, but they irk me to no end), but I came out with him as one of my favorite villains in the book, probably because of his gauntlet. I still like Guntram more, because he’s a sympathetic villain (I mean, come on, the Vittania completely justified all of their actions), but also because he killed a friken Dragon, and lastly at least five minutes against the Drake-Wolf, which I doubt anyone will ever be able to beat. Also, with the rate that the Six are appearing, we’ll probably see all of them around some time in the third book.

3: The Troll Scene:

This is probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole book. I thought it was really interesting to see Trolls portrayed as a kind of evil relation of the Ents instead of seeing them in the way that we usually see them.

4: The Locations:

As previously stated, reading the book was just like being in Errant, especially with the descriptions of the locations. I’m still not sure about the way that Illikon is portrayed on the Cover fitting with its description in the book, as it seems that it would be a lot smaller, but maybe that’s just me.

5: The Kickstarter Music:

Now, I didn’t know that the backers would be getting music in addition to everything else from the Kickstarter Campaign, so it was a pleasant surprise to get the music. The music for Illikon really matches its description in the book, especially in the first chapter during the joust. The Frost Raven Music actually reminded me more of Mount Gundabad than of the Frost-Raven’s camp, but that’s probably just me. But I still like the music from the Kickstarter Trailer the best out of all them.

THINGS I DISLIKED:

1: Drake’s Army of Wolves:

I’m not exactly sure where this came from, and it, really, was pretty ridiculous. I mean, unless Drake is somehow related to one of the Six, he couldn’t have done this, no way, no how. It was so bizarre, that, if it was any other book, I probably would have stopped reading it if it wasn’t so good.

2: The Bedroom Scene:

This scene really wasn’t necessary at all. It didn’t advance the plot, and really wasn’t helpful. I mean, come on, we already know that Drake is a ladies man with you having to throw this in here.

3: The Justifiable Villains getting Steamrolled:

Yes, I know, Illikon is Drake’s home turf and he wants to defend it, and I know that he tried to have an awesome speech just like one from the Lord of the Rings movies, but the Villains have a better cause than he does: they were there first, the Empire rooted them out, and they deserve to get their land back, not get steamrolled by an army of Wolves that literally comes out of nowhere. I’m probably in the wrong for saying that, but I guess that it was a good thing that happened, so, mreh.

4: Flippant Drake:

It was funny the first couple times Drake mouthed off to people of a higher rank than he was, some of them were really, really good, but it gets a little annoying after a while.

5: The Illustrations:

This didn’t really irk me so much, that’s why it’s on the bottom of the list. At first I thought that there would be illustrations below each chapter heading, so it was interesting to see them dotted here and there. It was a little annoying that I had seen all of the illustrations before except for three of them, which I have not seen outside of the book.

So, in conclusion, I would like to say that it was really hard to find things that I disliked about this book. There were only a few things that I really dislike about this book, and I had to look really hard before I found them. So, good job, Scorp and Wolfy, and keep up the good work!

Now I can do battle with anyone how wants to argue about my opinions about this book.

I’m not exactly sure where this came from, and it, really, was pretty ridiculous. I mean, unless Drake is somehow related to one of the Six, he couldn’t have done this, no way, no how. It was so bizarre, that, if it was any other book, I probably would have stopped reading it if it wasn’t so good.

2: The Bedroom Scene:

This scene really wasn’t necessary at all. It didn’t advance the plot, and really wasn’t helpful. I mean, come on, we already know that Drake is a ladies man with you having to throw this in here.

3: The Justifiable Villains getting Steamrolled:

Yes, I know, Illikon is Drake’s home turf and he wants to defend it, and I know that he tried to have an awesome speech just like one from the Lord of the Rings movies, but the Villains have a better cause than he does: they were there first, the Empire rooted them out, and they deserve to get their land back, not get steamrolled by an army of Wolves that literally comes out of nowhere. I’m probably in the wrong for saying that, but I guess that it was a good thing that happened, so, mreh.

4: Flippant Drake:

It was funny the first couple times Drake mouthed off to people of a higher rank than he was, some of them were really, really good, but it gets a little annoying after a while.

5: The Illustrations:

This didn’t really irk me so much, that’s why it’s on the bottom of the list. At first I thought that there would be illustrations below each chapter heading, so it was interesting to see them dotted here and there. It was a little annoying that I had seen all of the illustrations before except for three of them, which I have not seen outside of the book.

So, in conclusion, I would like to say that it was really hard to find things that I disliked about this book. There were only a few things that I really dislike about this book, and I had to look really hard before I found them. So, good job, Scorp and Wolfy, and keep up the good work!

Spoiler

1. While we didn't get an exact explanation of how Drake pulled that off, it is made increasingly obvious throughout the novel that not only is Tom a werewolf, but also a very special one. Why else would several of the Six be hunting him (though, for whatever reason, simply content to watch)? While I doubt he's related to them, it's evident he has some form of power similar to theirs', and I believe Wolfy means to explain that further in later novels. Maybe. Hopefully :V

Either way, there's undoubtedly a good reason Tom was able to pull that off. That, and it was an awesome scene that rivaled the end of Jurassic World... and made more sense than that

2. Eh, it could've been worse for sure. That, and while it's mentioned Tom's a lady's man, it's never really shown anywhere else than here (and this scene really shows the relationship that he personally has with Kallista, whereas in most other scenes she doesn't act like this at all around him), and not everyone that reads this novel is as knowledgeable of Drake's character as you and I. So, personally, I do kind of think it was necessary.

And honestly, if you didn't like it in any case, you could've skipped a couple of paragraphs.

3. Here, meanwhile, it's clear that the book doesn't cover a case of 'heroes versus villains'. There's more than a little black and white on both sides, with both the Empire and Nordlings performing cruel acts against each other. It all comes down to Tom's perspective, as he happens to be the central focus of the story, and since he didn't want Illikon going down... well, he summoned a justifiable army of werewolves to clean house.

Anyway, Guntram was crazy.

4. Drake being flippant is literally part of his character. Whether it's annoying or not, Wolfy isn't going to change his whole character just so some people don't get bothered by his back-talk.

5. ...Your point here is just that the illustrations have been shown before, out of context for the most part. I can get why you, specifically might think that's a bad thing, but I saw it as a way to give each image more meaning than before. That, and noteveryone has seen those images.

Anyway, that said, I do have one gripe, myself, which I only remember now as I re-read the book:

Spoiler

the jousting isn't done right. :V

It's almost ridiculously nitpick-y to point it out, and maybe I'm wrong in the first case when Gnaeus and Drake are dueling, but for the most part jousting is not based on who knocks the other off their horse. Not only is it ridiculously hard to actually pull that off, but if it is done there is a notable risk of the knight in question getting seriously injured or killed. I've actually watched real jousting (no, I'm not referring to the kind shown at Medieval Times. I mean competitive, sport-y jousting, with each rider actually trying to win the tournament) for a few years now, and I've only ever seen one competitor ever get unhorsed, and even then it was a slow process of them steadily sliding off the saddle from an extremely powerful strike. Thus, points are actually granted for where lances strike and how hard they do, rather than just being decided by whether or not an extremely rare turn of events pops up. To judge the latter consequence of powerful striking, competitors actually keep their lances after they strike, and present them to the marshall of the field to be measured against a small staff that is both ceremonial and also shows how large of a split is left in the remaining lance, and thus if they qualify for extra points... on top of whether they strike their opponent on the head, shield, or body (yes, helmet shots are actually allowed).

However, given all of this is taken from the modern sport, I can't say this is historically accurate and so I could very well be in the wrong in that case. Also, none of these jousts lead to personal duels on foot once the jousts finish, so that's another thing entirely. However, I do know how unlikely even a headshot with a lance can knock a heavily armored and skilled knight off of a horse, and that it's simply unreasonable for a match to be decided on such a result.

But I digress: the rest of the book was simply fantastic, and totally didn't cause me to lose some sleep in my excitement to read all of it. Even with the con above (which is really a tiny portion of the book and doesn't really bother me that much), I'm happily re-reading the whole thing to make sure I haven't missed any other of the book's excellent details.

So, overall, I only disliked a small, pretty much insignificant part of the book... and even then, only because I'm an accuracy nut and correcting it would probably ruin the pace of that section of the story in any case. I just thought I might as well spew about it :V

I edited a "MAJOR" spoiler warning into your post, Dalton, because I think spoiling the end of the book isn't a "minor" spoiler.

The illustrations were all made specifically for this novel, except for the one image of Kye that Scorp drew for the playing cards - and I later put it in there because I like it so much. None were drawn beforehand for other purposes. Some were shown during the Kickstarter as a means to promote it, but they were never used in the novel as an afterthought. They were drawn for this purpose. And, for some of them, you were meant to see them early as backers and it was supposed to be a backer privilege.

As for the jousting, I had my 70+-year-old military history professor (who specializes in ancient and medieval history in particular and is former military himself) read the jousting scenes, and the only thing he pointed out to me about them that was "wrong," per se, was that the knights didn't drop their lances when they splintered. So I changed that in the final version. Otherwise, he seemed to indicate everything about it was fine and reasonably accurate to the way things might've been. In that case, I trusted his judgement, as it's his chosen field of study. As for having any kind of specific rules about what's included in a joust, there's no reason different regions couldn't decide to include different elements into a tournament, especially in a fantasy world (including the fight on foot, for instance).

Just wanted to address that stuff real quick. Glad to see some discussion in here and I'm very glad you guys enjoyed the novel overall.